Strike Witches: A Line in the sand
by CaptainSentry
Summary: It's 1991, the Neuroi Gulf War is in full swing. My take on the Strike Witches 1991 universe created by Ogitsune (Ankakecya-han). A collection of stories that range all across from witch units, tank battalions, and more!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Consider this a test draft, if you guys like it, I will see if I will continue it. Here's the setting: I'm basing this one of the Strike Witches: 1991 Universe that has been created by Ogitsune (Ankakecya-han). Any characters that are his work are accredited to him and I have no place into claiming such characters (will add disclaimer beforehand). So here goes, wish me luck and please enjoy the story!**

The golden sea spanned for miles on end, the only distinguishing features were the oil fires that were spewing thick black smoke into the air. Out of the gaskets spewed orange flames that turned the area around it into a charred heap. The lone desert fox scampers about the sand before stopping suddenly, its ears perking up. Quickly, it retreated into its burrow as the sands began to shake, almost as an earthquake was about to make rifts in the earth.

The wheels making a path in the sand, the M998 Troop carrier sped across the open desert.

"Look at all this fucking sand man, this makes Arizona look like pre-school sandbox."

"You went to school?" The cabin erupted in laughter.

"Screw off Kerns."

"Simmer it down Jackson, you're from Phoenix, what sandbox are you talking about."

"Yeah whatever." The laughter and jeers ceased and the cabin became silent again. As the Humvee continued its path, the men of the 24th Special Tactics Squadron looked on as the same golden landscape seemed to stretch beyond the horizon. Suddenly, the Humvee came to an abrupt halt and sand kicked around the cabin. The sudden stop awoke any members that were asleep and the men began to pile out and set up their equipment. These men were JTAC's and their mission tasked with vectoring allied airstrikes onto Neuroi concentrations, wherever they were.

"Allen, what's the status on comms?" One of the lieutenants asked. Allen turned the dials and gave the thumbs up.

"We got a clear connection sir."

"Good, alright boys, we're goin' be here awhile so make yourselves comfortable."

"LT!" One of the airmen shouted. The lieutenant snapped his head back towards the call.

"What?"

"Sir, you've got to see this." The expression on the airmen's face looked grim, gesturing to the men behind him, the lieutenant followed, rifle in hand. The group reached a dune that they climbed over but stopped at the peak. There were two other men from the group already keeping watch as the lieutenant approached them.

"What do you got?"

"See for yourself." The airmen said, handing over his laser range finder. The lieutenant looked through the eye piece at the flat area ahead.

"My god," He said sullenly. "There's hundreds of them." Handing back the rangefinder, the lieutenant got up speedily and turned back to the truck, his men that came with him following close behind. "Allen! Get on the net and inform command; confirmation of Neuroi ground presence in map grid 31424, requesting strike package immediate!"

"Yes sir!" Allen got on the radio and began relaying the orders back to command. "Shogun, Shogun, this is Ninja 1-1 how copy?" Over the dunes, walker and flyer types sat idle in the desert sand, some parts began to turn jet black as the Neuroi began to 'assimilate' the area. Allen turned the dials while throwing his voice into the microphone until he got a response.

"Reading you five by five Ninja 1-1, what's your status?"

"Confirmation of Neuroi ground presence in sector, break. Map grid 31424, requesting strike package, authorization code Sierra Two Oscar Five Five Zero Niner over."

"Standby Ninja, wait one," After a slight pause, the voice on the other side came back, sterner than ever.

"Ninja 1-1, tasking you over to Airborne Warning and Control System _Top Hat_. Coordinate and vector friendly strike packages entering the sector and neutralize the hostile ground units, command out." Allen turned back to the lieutenant and shouted.

"**LT! WE GOT AUTHORIZATION!"**

"Guide 'em in Allen." The lieutenant responded in his gruff tone.

"Ninja 1-1, this is Airborne Warning and Control System _Top Hat,_ commencing elliptical pattern around your grid holding at angels 30."

"Top Hat, Top Hat, request ETA on friendly strike package."

"Friendly victors are inbound from the south-east, bearing 1-6-0, holding at Angels 5, ETA 3 Mikes. Callsign is '_Balk_' and you have a flight of 4 witches prepped for CAS, will inform once they enter the AO."

"Roger that _Top Hat_, Ninja is standing by to direct."

**Somewhere, over the desert sands…. **

"Ammo check?"

"Good here."

"Topped off and ready."

"M134 is spinning, let's do it already."

"A little too excited there Akagi?"

"Quit teasing me Jen, I would like to make it back before the sun falls and I didn't bring my NVG's."

"Hush up guys," Henrietta told her squad mates as she grabbed her headset. "Top Hat, _Balk_ is arriving on station at the AO, dropping to Angel's 2 and going to maintain a holding pattern."

"Belay that _Balk, _drop to Angel's 2 and standby."

"Uh… Roger that." Henrietta shot a glance of confusion to Alisa who had the same expression. Beside Alisa flew Jennifer and Akagi, both of which were adjusting their eyepieces.

"_Balk_, patching you through to JTAC's on the ground, callsign is Ninja 1-1, they will be vectoring CAS runs on hostile positions how copy?"

"_Balk_ reads five by five, patch us through." Static stirred as the channels were changed but another male's voice appeared on the other end.

"Balk, designating priority one target, Neuroi ground column heading due west, bearing 2-8-0, and target is painted and friendlies are marked with strobes."

"Copy that Ninja 1-1, changing approach vector to the 2-8-0 and prepping for gun run." Henrietta turned to the girls behind her. "Alright ladies, time to make the big bucks." Henrietta was the first to peel off, followed by Alisa, then by Jennifer and Akagi. The droning sound of their A-10 striker units could be heard from the JTAC's stationed on the ground. Henrietta made a sharp turn and right in front of her was a large black tower that protruded out of the ground. Looking through her eyepiece, she locked onto the structure and fired. 700 Rounds of 7.62 shredded the Neuroi's exterior, Henrietta pulled away and made a steep climb before getting back on her headset. "Ninja 1-1, requesting BDA on previous run"

"Hostile suffered major structural damage, I can see that the core is exposed."

"Nice, Alisa, it's your turn." Henrietta watched as Alisa pulled off and began making her attack run.

"Balk 2 is engaging target." Alisa swooped low over the ground before pulling up slightly, her eyepiece zeroed in on the core which was located at the top of the tower. Once again, a fusillade of 7.62 impacted the core, causing the tower to shatter into white flakes.

"**GOOD EFFECT ON TARGET**!" Allen shouted in elation as he saw the tower explode.

"Good shooting Alisa, Balk's 3 and 4, we are in a free fire zone, cite enemy targets and engage at will." Henrietta announced.

"YES MA'AM!" Soon the two witches descended and began their attack runs, all the while, Henrietta and Alisa swooped in and out of each other's turn, firing their mini guns away at the neuroi targets below them. Over the dune, the lieutenant observed the carnage.

"Well hot damn…." He said suddenly. "Remind me not get on their bad side, airmen."

"Roger that sir." One of the men replied, rather amused.

The cyclic revolutions on the M134's continued on for what seemed to be forever, every single sound was the hum of 2000 rounds being spit out all across the hot sands. Finishing off a large walker tank, Henrietta shook around a bit, the canister on her back was emitting a rattling sound, usually the sign of depleting ammunition.

"Girls, ammo check!"

"Only got a burst left in me."

"Barrels are hot and I'm dry."

"Gun's jammed."

Henri got on her headset. "Ninja 1-1, we are Winchester and will be egressing out of the AO, how copy?"

"Copy that, thank you for the show Balk flight." Henri giggled lightly before gesturing to her witches to follow her. "Top Hat, Balk is disengaging and we are egressing to the 1-6-0."

"_Balk_ flight roger, keep on alert, UAV's have spotted Neuroi fighter launches."

"Can you tell what direction?"

"Negative, contacts dropped off radar just as soon as they launched."

"Damn, keep me posted."

"Roger that."

Akagi noticed the concerned looks on her superiors face. "Something wrong LT?" Henri feigned a small smile and waved her hand.

"Nothing, I was just thinking about something." Knowing that she wasn't going to say anymore, Akagi thought it best to cease right then and there.

"Hey LT, what's going to be for dinner when we get back?" Jennifer said with an unusual cheer. Henri shot a fleeting glance at the brunette before sighing and turning her head forwards. The group remained relatively quiet throughout until Henri broke the silence.

"Perk up girls, we're entering the blue-zone, dinner is just around the corner." Henri announced, from her peripheral view, she could see Jennifer do celebratory barrel rolls. "Tower, Tower, this is _Balk_ Flight, requesting landing clearance."

"_Balk_ flight, landing pad is clear and you are green for approach, welcome back lieutenant."

"Thanks." With the air base in sight, the witches flew over and pointed their strikers down and began to decelerate. The large 'H' painted onto the tarmac was getting larger and larger as they got closer, soon they could see the aircraft marshaller wave around his batons as he directs the witches onto their launch units.

Disengaging them, the four walked out onto the tarmac just as a Humvee rolled up to greet them. The man in the driver seat turned to them and greeted them with a warm smile. "Welcome back," He said in a southern Liberion tone. "What did ya'll bag this time?"

"Towers, tanks, walkers, those things of the sort." Alisa replied sharply.

"No damage?"

"Not even a scratch!" Jennifer belted proudly.

"Hm…. Well that's less work for me, get in." The man gestured the witches to get in, which they did. He turned and smiled again. "Where to?"

"DFAC" Henri replied quickly. Content with the request, the man shifted the gears and the Humvee drove off onto the road, falling in line with a small truck convoy. The base was alive with activity, helicopters were idling on the pads and fighter jets were taxiing to their take-off positions. The Humvee continued on the road as men ran in formation for exercise, shouting out their cadence as they drove by. The truck passed a rather imposing ceramic wall which just stood in the middle of the base, around it were the flags of Liberion, Karlsland, Fuso, Britannia, and Arabia, all arranged in a semi-circular pattern. In the middle was the slab, on it were inscribed the words.

**_Dhahran Air Base _**

**End**

**Characters**

**Henrietta Von Holle**

**Age: 18**

**Unit: 71****st**** Joint Tactical Wing**

**Striker Unit: Republic A-10A**

**Nationality: Karlslander **

**Rank: 1****st**** Lieutenant**

**Alisa Franziska Addleman **

**Age: 17**

**Unit: 71****st**** Joint Tactical Wing**

**Striker Unit: Republic A-10A**

**Nationality: Karlslander**

**Rank: 2****nd**** Lieutenant**

**Jennifer "Shooter" Davenport**

**Age: 17**

**Unit: 71****st**** Joint Tactical Wing**

**Striker Unit: Republic A-10A**

**Nationality: Liberion **

**Rank: Master Sergeant**

**Nicole "Garand" Akagi**

**Age: 16**

**Unit: 71****st**** Joint Tactical Wing**

**Striker Unit: Republic A-10A**

**Nationality: Liberion/Fusoan**

**Rank: Technical Sergeant **

**Terms: **

**JTAC: Joint Terminal Attack Controller- Directs action of combat aircraft in close air support from a forward area close to the strike zone.**

**NVG: Night Vision Goggles.**

**Angels: Another term for Altitude**

**DFAC- Dining Facility**

**A/N: Something completely new! Hope you guys enjoyed this experimental story, please leave feedback! It's much appreciated! **


	2. Chapter 2

**_Dhahran Air Base, Arabia_**

**_Base DFAC_**

"**AWW, SCRAMBLED EGGS AGAIN**?" Jennifer whined as she looked at the large yellow lump on her tray.

"Supply shipments haven't been coming in lately so we're making do with what we have," The man behind the counter interjected. "This is better than eating MRE's."

"Yeah I guess." Jennifer turned away from the counter and made her way down the aisle, passing other soldiers, airmen, and witches before arriving at the table where her squadron mates were lounging.

"So she comes around the back of this thing, it's still shooting at her and she's got ammo, but the core was right there so… she takes her unit and drive right through!"

"WOW!"

"Here's the unbelievable part, not a scratch." Alisa ended the story there just as Jennifer sat down. Taking her fork, she stabs the yellow mass and puts it in her mouth and begins chewing.

"Why the long face Jen?" Akagi asked lightly. She heard Jennifer mumble a few words but could only translate yellow yoke. "Huh?"

"She's a picky eater and the DFAC's been running low on stock." Henrietta interjected. Jennifer shot a less than savory glance to her flight lead but was greeted with wry grin before she took another fork full of eggs. The group continued on their usual conversation as the room flowed with a steady stream of personal, minutes later, the witches pushed in their chairs and left the room only to be met with the bright sun.

"Where to now boss?" Alisa asked her superior, Henrietta turned around and shrugged and walked forwards down the side of the road, her group following close behind. As they walked along the road, they looked at the large tan buildings and tents that lined the road and populated the area farther inwards. All of this was a far different sight than their homelands which were green with grass, trees, and hills. The group was about to cross the road when suddenly.

*VROOM!* A medical Humvee came speeding down the road, causing Akagi to fall to ground.

"**HEY! WATCH WHERE YOU'RE DRIVING**!" Alisa shouted angrily, shaking her fist in the air. "Damn army pukes." She said under her breath. Akagi got to her feet with the aid of Jennifer just as a group of men were sprinting in the other direction.

"What the hell? Some marathon or something?" Jennifer questioned. Another Humvee turned the corner but Henrietta raised her hand, signaling the driver to stop. The rubber screeched as the 1-ton vehicle stopped in front of the Karlsland witch.

"What's going on Corporal?" Henri asked. The corporal gave a stern expression before saying,

"8th Tactical got sent out on S&D, ran into something big and they took a pounding, from what we're hearing, it doesn't sound too good." The corporal saw the witches eyes sharpen before she said,

"Can you take us there? We can help." Henri said quickly.

"Get in the back." The senior gestured for her witches to get in the back. With the witches fastened in, the truck sped off towards the tarmac.

**Control Tower**

"Shrike 1, give me a sit-rep."

"*Cough* *Cough* Shrike 4 and 7 are reporting hydraulic pressure dropping, and two of my witches are wounded, one critical."

"Copy Shrike 1, medical teams on standby and you are green for approach."

**_Dhahran Air Base _**

The Humvee pulled onto a frenzied scene, men running about, and vehicles speeding in and around the tarmac. Hopping off the back, the witches scanned the situation among the cacophony of noise.

"So what now?" Akagi asked, her hands around her ears. Suddenly the wind started to kick up and the witches looked up to see three UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters, all of them bearing the Red Cross on the underbellies. They moved out of the way so that the helicopters can land and took position just where they can see the runway.

**"ONCE THEY TOUCHDOWN, GET THE WOUNDED TO THE SHOCK TRAUMA UNIT**!" One man yelled.

"What's their ETA?"

"5 Mikes out!" Soon the drone of engines permeated over the area and the specs of returning aircraft appeared against the setting sun. The first set of F-15 Eagles were the first to touch down, one was missing a vertical stabilizer, the seam still glowing red hot where the miasma sliced through. The next group of specs were smaller and closer together.

"**HERE THEY COME, GET THAT CASEVAC PREPPED**!" The witches squinted their eyes against the setting sun to make out the figures. Their hearts sank to the bottom of their chest when they saw what it was. One witch, which looked like to be the senior, her face was black with whatever compound and a long burn on her they, exposed through her now tattered uniform. In her arms was another figure, cradled in a way so that Henri's group can't make out the face. Her clothes were tattered too, but her mid-section was soaked in blood. As the senior witch touched the ground, medical personal and men rushed her but stopped short. Henrietta and her witches tried to make their way through the crowd and reached the front.

"I should've saw it coming," The senior spoke in raspy but yet hush tone. "She paid for my misgivings." Looking down at the body in her arms. Without even resisting, the witch put the girl down and she was quickly placed on a stretcher. The medic's screamed for everyone to get out the way as they rushed towards the helicopter. Henri and her group followed close behind.

"I'm reading a pulse but it's faint."

"Get her in the bird, inform the unit that we have a critical inbound, get some fluid's in her before she crashes."

"Yes sir." With haste, the medics usher the stretcher into the helicopter and another witch, this time with a Red Cross on her shoulder appeared and a blue aura permeated out of cargo hold.

"I'll stabilize her." The witch said before the door slid shut. Covering their eyes to shield themselves from the storm of sand that was let off by the rotor wash, the witches watched as the Blackhawks took off and flew away. Every face on each of the witches was one that could best be described as shocked. Technology has advanced ever since the days of the 2nd Neuroi War, with the advent of guided missiles and smart bombs, the whole affair of horrendous casualties after every sortie seemed like a foregone conclusion, but this was a testament that the Neuroi are adapting, evolving, and continuing their goal to conquer the planet.

* * *

><p><strong>The Next Day<strong>

*Knock* *Knock* "Enter."

*Door Opens* "Sir."

"1st Lieutenant Holle, good morning, have a seat." The blonde witch gingerly takes a seat as the ruffling of papers is heard. "You understand about the incident yesterday I presume?" The witch nods. "Here." The man puts out a folder with assorted documents and photos. Henrietta takes it and begins sorting through, observing each piece with diligence.

"Sir, may I ask what I'm looking at?"

"We don't know what it is, what we do know scares us, what we don't know scares us the hell more." The man's expression looked distressed.

"Sir?"

"What's your pattern today lieutenant?"

"Uh.. on call for support around Al Majmaah, why sir?"

"That will be all lieutenant, you are dismissed?"

"Uh… uh… yes sir." Henrietta saluted and left the room, still perturbed by the sudden dismissal. She flagged down a passing Humvee and headed to the launch site. Her witches were already there, doing pre-flight checks, when Henrietta showed, Akagi greeted her with usual cheer.

"Morning lieutenant!"

"Huh? Oh hi Akagi."

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, just thinking about something."

"Oh." Henri glanced at Alisa.

"We good to go?"

"System are green, we're good to go."

"Alright, Henrietta Holle, taking off!" Leaving the launch unit, the four witches zoomed into the sky, heading northwards.

**Sometime later….**

"Hey, something buggin' you?" Alisa asked as she closed distance. Henrietta snapped out of her stupor and greeted her junior with a smile.

"What? Oh nothing, just something on my mind again."

"Wanna' talk about it?"

"It's nothing that you would care about, I'm fine really."

Alisa saw the door of conversation slowly closing and decided upon not pursuing it any further. The sea of gold below them continued on and on. Occasionally the group ran along a lone vulture that scoured the landscape for pickings but even this did not last long. Suddenly, their headsets began emitting loud pinging's, bringing their attention forwards.

"Proximity contact!" Jennifer shouted. The witches brought up their weapons and began scanning the area.

"There it is! Contact approaching from the north!" Henrietta saw the large dot on her eyepiece. "**ASSUME COMBAT FORMATION**!" Just as the witches were spinning up their barrels, an unknown voice came over their headsets.

"WOAH HOLD YOUR FIRE! HOLD YOUR FIRE!" The voice shouted frantically. "WHEW, oh right, _Balk_ Flight, this is _Gladiator_ flight coming in from your 3-2-0." The witches lowered their weapons and Henrietta squinted her eyes at the figures coming towards them.

"Who are these guys?" Alisa asked in concern. "They didn't register on the tac?" Suddenly the voice came back.

"Sorry for the sudden scare guys, didn't know we switched off our IFF. Oh, I should introduce myself, 2nd Lieutenant Marissa Gardener, 204th Strike Wing." The two groups closed distance and the mystery team made a wide berth before forming up with Henrietta's flight. The flight was a four-ship formation, with a girl that had long auburn hair leading the group. To Henrietta, she could see the unprofessionalism in the girl's bubbly expression she had as she looked at her.

"Why were you flying without IFF, somebody could've been seriously hurt." Henrietta spewed her disapproval towards the young witch. She saw as the witch smile slowly morph downwards, realizing that she didn't want to orbit around the topic for any longer, she changed the subject. "What were you doing out here anyway?"

The lieutenant replied gloomily with, "We were tasked to escort a friendly strike package, callsign was _Balk_, but we sorta lost our way and we forgot to turn them on."

"You're our escort?" Jennifer said in disbelief.

"Pipe it down Alisa!" Henri looked at the witch again. "Sorry about that, who are the rest?" Gardener turned her head and began to introduce her flight.

"Pleasure to meet you all, I'll update AWACS," Henri grabbed her headset. "Top Hat, we've rendezvoused with _Gladiator_, still on track to target how copy?"

"Roger that, tracking both your flights on radar." While all of this was going on, Akagi broke formation and flew up to Gardener. She greeted the witch with a warm smile in which the auburn returned.

"How you feeling?" Akagi asked.

"Little bit jumpy, we recently got shipped in so this is our first sortie, tell your CO that we're sorry for everything." Gardener replied.

"Oh no! There's nothing wrong with being new, and we all make mistakes, it's what makes us human."

"But I almost put my flight endanger."

"As long as you put your heart into everything you do, you'll do fine."

"Girls, Al-Majmaah is up ahead, assume attack formation. _Balk_, prep for gun runs and _Gladiator_, maintain a holding pattern at Angels 5."

"Yes ma'am." The two witches replied. With the city in cite, Henri could see the signs of battle as she descended with her comrades.

"_Top Hat_, _Balk_ and _Gladiator_ has arrived on station and Balk is commencing ground attack, over."

"_Balk_, patching you through to Badger 2-1 Actual." The radio screeched as the channel was switched, now a man with frantic tone was on the other end.

"_BALK_, REQUESTING AIR SUPPORT IN GRID 02314, DANGER CLOSE, THE NEUROI ARE RIGHT ON TOP OF US!"

Henri looked back at Akagi and Davenport. "Nic, Jen, you guys are up first." The two witches nodded and peeled off, swooping down to the ground below. Through their eyepieces, they spotted the arachnid Neuroi walker that was bearing down upon a unit of M1 Abrams tanks.

* * *

><p><strong>Badger 2-1<strong>

"**GRAY! GET THAT 240 ON THE LEFT FLANK! GO, GO, GO**!" Captain Jacob Erikson, commander of Badger Company, 5th Marine Division, takes cover behind sandbags, next to him, his radio operating, and his link to the angels above. The rat-tat of the M240's and M249's were muffled by the screech and accompanied by the heat from the miasma hitting near him. Suddenly, one of the Abrams tanks that have been supporting him went up in a ball of flames.

"God damn this to hell." He said to himself. "PORTER! WHAT'S THE STATUS ON THAT SUPPORT?!"

"**ONE CLICK OUT**!" Then the drone of the M134 Dillon mini gun filled the air. Erikson felt as the cartridges landed on him, this gave him an eerie sense of relief. The Neuroi screeched as the rounds impacted its surface and it stumbled backwards and fired a beam into the air. Seizing the opportunity, Erikson belted out,

"WE GOT'EM NOW, ALL UNITS, ENGAGE!" The marines fired a fusillade of assorted ammunition at the walker, an AT-4 shot destroyed one of the walkers leg, causing it to kneel to one side. It fired a beam into the air again but missed as the two witches came back around, wreaking havoc on the surface again.

**Badger 2-6**

**M1A1 Abrams Tank**

"GUNNER! SIGHT TARGET, WALKER, 800 METERS!"

"TARGET ACQUIRED!"

"LOAD HE!"

"UP!"

"FIRE!"

"ON THE WAY!" *Bang* 120mm round impacted against the Neuroi surface, exposing the core.

**_Balk_**** Flight **

"Hey Akagi, that tank just exposed the core."

"Right, going in, cover me." Akagi swooped down and lined up the core in her eye piece. She breathed deeply and pulled the trigger. As she pulled up, the white flakes fell behind her, she quickly turned around and headed to the ground. Captain Erikson was gesturing to his men to move up when he felt the gust of wind hit him, in front of him was the young witch. "You guys okay?" Akagi asked.

The captain scratched the back of his head. "We're a bit roughed up but it could've gone worse, thanks for the support." Akagi saw the blackness on the captain's face but still found warmness within it. Suddenly, her ears could pick up the sounds of cheers. Erikson turned to see his men cheering and waving their hands, not at him, but at the witch behind him. Akagi's face turned red as the men cheered and whistled. Just before she was about to leave, Erikson turned to her and looked her straight in the eye. "You be careful out there."

"I will, take care sir." Erikson shielded his eyes from the blowing dust as the witch lifted off into the air and rejoined with her wingman. He then turned to his men and said,

"Alright, Badger Company we're Oscar Mike."

Upon rejoining with Jennifer, the latter began to inquire on the encounter between the two. "How were they?"

"They're fine, we should've gotten here sooner." Jennifer could see the disquieted look through her eyepiece.

"Sometimes, we can't be there for everything." She tries to cheer the former up. "But I see you were eyeing that captain, remember Akagi, you're still enlisted."

"**IT'S NOTHING LIKE THAT**!" Akagi squealed. Jennifer laughed heartily and shoulder bashed the witch.

"Ah, I'm just playing with you. Let's get back to it before the LT yells at us."

Watching the two witches pull off from their attack run, Henri updated the flying radar dome in the sky. "_Balk_ 3 and 4 have neutralized the target, Badger is moving up."

"Copy that, standby for further." Scanning for any black figures, the witches are deafened by the loud response blaring in from their headsets. "**ALERT! NEUROI FIGHTER CONTACTS HAVE JUST EMERGED**!"

"WHAT!?" Alisa said aghast.

"BEARING 3-2-0 AT ANGELS 12 AND DESCENDING!"

"_Balk_ this is _Gladiator_ 1, we spotted the inbound bogeys and are preparing to engage, suggest you pull off and take evasive."

"**NO GARDENER! WE DO THIS TOGETHER**!" The Karlsland witch snapped back. "Balk flight, climb to Angels 9 to assist."

"YES MA'AM!" Pushing their A-10's forwards, the four began to climb upwards, the aerial dogfight had already commenced. Beam and tracer fire crisscrossed each other as the two witch flights battled the swarm of flying wings who were swift and agile. A group fell behind Alisa and she cursed as she twisted back and let loose with a burst from her mini-gun. Henrietta and Jennifer were tandem as they sliced through the black swarm, coming out of the end before preforming a high loop to get above the battle.

"They seem to end, where are they all coming from?" Henri questioned. A sudden flash in the sky caught her attention, she turned to Davenport and told her to stay put. She climbed to where she saw the flash, just as she paused to scan, a loud screech almost deafened her. She looked up and saw the clouds part, and a red beam fly straights towards her. Deflecting it with her shield, she saw what fired it. A massive flying wing with the drone swarms circling around it, it screeched one more time before letting out a scarlet volley. Henri dove quickly and quickly ran into Jennifer who was holding place.

"What is it?"

"LET'S GO DAVENPORT, WE ARE LEAVING!" Stunned, Jennifer followed her squad leader who was broadcasting over the net for the witches to retreat. The radar in the sky saw the dots egressing from the area. "_TOP HAT_, LARGE CARRIER TYPE CONFIRMED, REQUEST EGRESS AND ALL UNITS TO FALL BACK!"

"Say again Balk? Did you say carrier type?"

"DID I STUTTER!? GET THEM OUT OF THERE NOW!" Henri snapped back. The officer inside the AWACS saw the large blob on the radar screen.

"ALL UNITS, FALL BACK, CEASE FIRE AND FALL BACK." The net came alive with frantic calls as the large carrier broke more clouds and lingered over the city. On the back of a tank, Captain Erikson watched as the drone swarm swoop down and lay waste to the city. In the sky, Akagi looked back and saw the mass of men and machine head southwards, all she could think about is the men that she saved. Was all that work for nothing?

On the flight back, Alisa flew next to her senior, the expression on her face was still one of shock. "Quick thinking LT, we would've been toast."

"Is everyone alright?"

"They're all good, though a bit shaken."

"That good to hear, we're returning to base now." Her usual tone was absent.

"Yes ma'am." The two flights flew southwards, back to their base, knowing that a new enemy is not far away and this enemy cannot be easily defeated, but then again they were ground attack witches, the only easy day was yesterday.

**End**

**A/N: Well that was fun, I hope you guys enjoyed that, and once again, I'm still in the experimental phase. If you like this a lot, please leave some feedback because it's appreciated! This is CaptainSentry and I'll see you guys around! **


	3. Chapter 3

**Forward Operating Base Charlotte**

**Outskirts of Al-Duwadimi**

"How does it look Keating?" Emma looked on as her co-pilot inspected the engine intakes on their AH-1W Super Cobra. His voiced echoed in the intake as he slammed the metal body.

"God damn sand is clogging the intake, where are the techs when you need them?" He looked at Emma and gestured for her to get the air hose, which she did. Emma covered her mouth as the mountain of sand blew out from the intake and in her direction.

"I think you got it." Emma said comically, holding her thumbs up. Keating hopped off the wing stub onto the sand and dusted himself off, grabbing the canteen of his belt, he unscrews the caps and takes a sip.

"Poor girl," He said softly, taking another gulp. "She hasn't been up in a while." Emma had a look of confusion and she took her finger and pointed it to herself.

"What are you talking about? I'm right here."

"Not you, the helicopter."

"Oh." Emma's cheeks turned red as she finally realized the observation. The two had a good laugh that lasted for a minute before it was interrupted by wailing and the accompaniment of a siren. Immediately, the two gunned for the helicopter and hastily entered the cockpit, after donning their helmets, Emma began pre-flight procedures.

"Control Surface are responding five by five, tail rotor test for no interference, hydraulic pressure nominal. Systems are green across the board, standing by to take off."

"Red Crown, this is Ballista 2-2, pre-flight complete and awaiting further."

"Ballista 2-2, take off and proceed to RV point Lima, transferring coords to your TAC's."

"Copy that Red Crown, Emma you good?"

"Set, receiving coordinates." The Marine attack helicopter chugged through the desert sky, slowly gaining altitude as the sands pass beneath it. The skies were clear, and anything and everything could be seen for miles.

"We're approaching the RV point, keep an eye out for contacts." Keating said as he scanned his instruments.

"Ballista 2-2, friendly contacts are right above you, decreasing to your altitude." The two glanced out their canopy to see the silhouettes of four witches against the sun. Emma maneuvered the Cobra slightly as to not get in the way. Soon, there were two witches on either side.

"Witch flight, witch flight, this is Ballista 2-2, how are you receiving?" Emma radioed. Some static came through before a voice with a distinct Karlsindich accent came out on the other side.

"Reading you loud and clear Ballista 2-2." The voice replied. Keating suddenly jumped in when he saw the witches' striker units.

"What outfit are you guys from?" There was a slight pause before the voice came back.

"71st Tactical, Lieutenant Holle, call sign is Balk One. Next to me is 2nd Lieutenant Addleman, callsign is Balk two, on your left is Balk three and four, Sergeants Akagi and Davenport." The cobra crew looked both left and right to fit names with faces and once they did, they settled in as the flight of five continued onwards.

Emma looked out the canopy at the lead witch, she watched as her uniform flapped in the rushing wind. She sighed and looked at her instruments.

"You miss it don't you?" Keating said suddenly, hearing his co-pilot sighing. He saw the reflection of Emma still looking out of the canopy.

"I can't seem to keep myself out of the sky," Emma switched her gaze to the other side where the other witches flew.

"Do you think you some left?" Keating asked.

"What? Magic? Pfft, the only magic I can do now is probably pull a rabbit out of a hat." Emma said sarcastically. Keating responded with a light chuckle but suddenly, a high pitch voice threw itself into the exchange.

"Can you really do that?" The voice said. "Ugh… No Akagi, anyway, you should make sure that you're on two way rather than on global." Another voice said. Noticing their error, the crew realized that they were talking on an open channel so the witches around them heard everything, and then the questions began.

"Were you really a witch?" Akagi asked, her curiosity beaming.

"Jeez kid, you make it sound like I've been on this earth for long. Yes, I used to soar the skies like you did at one point in time." Akagi wooed at the answer coming from the Cobra pilot. She asked if there was more that Emma could add but was met with this response. "Hey, tell you what, once we get back, I'll tell you everything there is to know about me." Emma watched as the young witch nodded her head in excitement before she cracked a small smile as the witch did a small barrel roll.

Then, Henrietta's voice overtook the headsets of the flight. "We're approaching the AO, make sure you're good while update Red Crown." The witches began charging their weapons and checking their gear. Keating cycled through the Cobra's weapon system, making sure each of them worked properly.

"Balk and Ballista, here's the situation, 10th Panzer Division was tasked with retaking Firebase Phoenix but once they arrived, they engaged neuroi forces coming from the direction of the firebase. It's assumed that they are using the equipment against us."

"What are we looking at?" Henrietta inquired, fearing what she might hear.

"That's an unknown at this time, for all we know, more Neuroi ground units could've moved into the area and the 10th lacks the numbers to make a full scale assault."

"*Sigh* so what do you want us to do?"

"You'll be on station to pull out a 10th recon element just in case shit goes sideways. Proceed to grid

52123 and hold."

"Wait, what about us?" Keating asked, concerned about the absence of their presence.

"Balk flight will take the lead on the operation so Ballista will hold maintain a defensive posture unless told otherwise." Keating growled into his mic before responding with.

"Ballista 2-2 copies." With the voice of the AWACS now gone, the witches and pilots could only here the distant clashing and screeching in the distance as they approached the hold point. Upon arriving, the Cobra transitioned to a gentle hover as the witches did the same.

"Alisa, make contact with the recon team." Henrietta ordered.

"Roger that. Hailing any allied units in this area, this is 2nd Lieutenant Addleman from 71st JTW, any units, please respond." The airwaves remained silent as Alisa repeated herself calling out for a response when suddenly.

"Glad to hear a friendly voice out there, this is Schwarz; we're holding position at grid 52130 and we have eyes on the firebase, can you guys level it?" Alisa's eyes widened when asked the request. She turned to her squad leader who slowly shook her head before responding with.

"Um… negative Schwarz, we aren't authorized for strike packages, plus we're lacking the tools for target saturation."

"Is there anything else? Over?" Alisa turned to her squad leader again with an even more stressed face.

"We can try to vector a cruise missile." Jennifer proposed but it was cut down quickly by Emma's response.

"We can't, the Missouri is too far out of strike range and recent Neuroi activity have forced the Navy to hang back until they're dealt with, so that's a no go." All eyes turned back to Alisa whose face silently protested the pressure.

"Um… Schwarz, we'll vector a friendly strike package, just give us the coordinates, how copy?"

"Roger that, transmitting coordinates."

**Sometime later….**

"Schwarz, we have two F-15's for the section, armed with four JDAMS in stack, standby for target saturation." The roar of the engines could be heard getting closer and closer when finally, the witches tilted their heads upwards and the two silhouettes of the Eagles flew over.

"Blackjack has eyes on the target, ordinance release in 10..9..8.." Jennifer gazed at where the bombs were going to fall when she saw a bright streak zoom upwards. Her blood rushed to her face as she screamed.

"**ABORT! ABORT! ABORT!**" But it was already too late. The witches looked on as the bright streak made contact with the Eagle and watched it burst into flames. The second Eagle popped it's flares in an effort to escape but it to was met with a fiery end. They watched as the burning pieces fell slowly to the earth as a loud screech echoed around them. The silence was interrupted when Keating said.

"This day just keeps on getting better and better."

**End**

**Characters**

**Warrant Officer Emma Dodson**

**Age: 25**

**Unit: Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 225**

**1****st**** Lieutenant Jonathon Keating**

**Age: 28**

**Unit: Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 225**

**A/N's: I'll keep this short, usually because I'm bad with doing things like this but I'm enjoying this whole modern spin thing, especially the callsigns, man the callsigns. Apologize for the lack of updates and the story length, I've decided that instead of listing individual chapters of a cohesive story, this will be more like excerpts from here and there, though the 71st will make appearances because I unknowingly established that fact, but I'm also often losing my creative prowess and ideas get loss or they become really stupid.(Usually the latter) But if you enjoyed this, please leave a review because it's always appreciated! And if you like the story, feel free to leave a follow or a favorite or both!**


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